Danish twin register
The Danish twin register is one of the oldest twin registers in the world. It collects data on the curriculum vitae and illnesses of twin pairs and was originally founded in 1954 for cancer research . In 2005 it contained life and medical data on 75,000 twins from a period of 130 years (1870 to 2000).
Twin registers are the basis of twin research . The Swedish twin registry is a similarly large project .
Story and goal
The founders were Professors Tage Kemp, Mogens Hauge and Benz Harwald from the Institute for Medical Genetics at the University of Copenhagen . The aim was initially to study the influence of genetic and environmental factors, especially on chronic diseases; hence the first data records from the years of birth 1870 to 1910. When Tage Kemp died, the register with Mogens Hauge and Bent Harvald moved to the University of Odense , where both had been appointed. The register was gradually expanded to include those born up to 1930. Since 1990, data on twins born between 1953 and 1982 have also been recorded. Numerous demographers and medical professionals use the data in the archive to investigate the heredity of diabetes , mental illness, lifespan or fertility , for example .
The Danish Twin Register has been a public body since 1995, although it is partly self-financed. Since January 2007 it has been managed by Kaare Christensen.